Hopewell Valley Vineyards tourHopewell Valley Vineyards owner Sergio Neri gives a tour of his Hopewell Township operation to the Mercer County Agricultural Development Board on Wednesday, April 14, 2011.
At issue before the board is whether the state's Right to Farm Act, which protects commercial farmers in their business pursuits, allows Neri to hold catered events like weddings, which have put him at odds with his neighbors and the township. Video by Martin Griff / The Times of Trenton

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — Vineyard owner Sergio Neri’s hope that a county farm board would back him in a township zoning battle was dashed this week when the panel concluded that state farming laws do not guarantee Neri’s right to hold weddings and other big events on his farm.

The decision, which the Mercer County Agriculture Development Board will adopt as a resolution next month, supports the township’s assertion that Neri needs a special event permit to hold big functions because his Yard Road vineyard is not zoned for such activities.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” Neri said of the decision Tuesday night. “I held out hope that the board members, as farmers, would have the guts to say ‘We have to do something to protect this farm because this farm is suffering.’ Instead, they decided to be afraid.”

Neri said he will appeal the decision to the state Office of Administrative Law, which acts as an arbiter of certain disputes.

Township attorney Steve Goodell, who argued the town’s case to the county farm board, lauded the preliminary findings.

“I thought the board gave a full and fair hearing of the issues and I look forward to seeing the final resolution,” Goodell said.

Neighbors’ complaints about noise and traffic last year prompted the township to cite Neri for alleged violations, saying he needs a zoning variance for carte blanch permission to hold weddings, wine festivals and other events on his 74-acre estate, located in a residential zone. The township also cited Neri for serving food and providing music at his events.

Neri argued that weddings and other parties promote his wines and are thus protected under the state’s Right to Farm Act, a law designed to shield farmers from cumbersome township regulations.

After a hearing last week and a lengthy discussion Tuesday night, the county board ruled that the state Right to Farm Act does not specifically cite third-party celebratory events as accepted farm practices.

“The way the act is written today, I don’t see it in the law,” said Steve Jany vice-chair of the county board.

Many board members said they believed the activities should be protected but they also said the Right to Farm Act lacks language they could cite to support their beliefs. Board members called on the state to adopt “generally accepted agricultural management practices” — known as AMPs — for wineries that would designate weddings and other third-party events as industry standards.

Other industries, such as fish farming, horse farming and bird farming, have AMPs that provide guidelines for activities not specifically addressed in the more general Right to Farm Act, they noted.

“I think weddings are an integral part of a winery but without an AMP, how can we assert that?” Jany said. “The state really dropped the ball in not getting that AMP out.”

The State Agriculture Development Committee, or SADC, is drafting an AMP for wineries, but its adoption is not expected for another year.

“We can’t wait that long,” Neri said. He said his farm has lost $120,000 in wine sales since the township put a stop to third-party events at his farm last year.

Several farmers from across the state and around Mercer addressed the county board on Neri’s behalf. They said they all hold events on their farms — weddings, kite days, birthday parties — that are not directly related to farming.

“They’re crucial to our farming,” said Gary Mount, who owns Terhune Orchards in Lawrence. “We do them to get people to our farms and to sell the stuff we grow. The increase in sales following a festival like that is noticeable and meaningful and necessary.”

Under questioning by the board, the farmers said they obtained special permits for their events. Neri said he has had difficulty getting special permits from the current township committee. The Right to Farm Act was designed to protect farmers from the political whims of governing bodies, he said.

The board’s decision Tuesday night closely mirrored a recommendation the SADC issued in February regarding Neri’s dispute with the township. The state committee found that the Right to Farm Act does allow Neri to hold wine festivals, serve food and play music during wine tastings. But the committee found that the Right to Farm Act does not recognize weddings, vintner dinners and other “third-party” events as accepted farming practices.

In a digression from the state ruling, the county board found that vintner dinners are included among the events protected under the Right to Farm Act.

In deciding which activities are protected and which aren’t, the board ruled on the side of events that could not be held without the presence of the wine.